Problem Girl
by sportsnightnut
Summary: When Tonks begins to feel like she's a constant problem, will admitting her feelings for Lupin help the matter, or will their feelings for one another complicate things even more?
1. Chapter 1

Hi, guys. This is my newest story, my first shot at HP fic, and my first Remus/Tonks. This is a songfic to Rob Thomas' "Problem Girl", which happens to be a _very_ good song. ;) I hope you enjoy this, and reviews are always appreciated! Here's chapter one!

Chapter One: But Not For Me

The small house was dark, and when the sunlight shone in through the windows, you could see dust floating through the air. The breeze was blowing in liberally from the windows, and the sitting room smelled reminiscently of Floo Powder. Remus Lupin walked in, threw his coat over an armchair in the sitting room, and headed to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. After he'd sat down with it and the _Daily Prophet_, he heard a pop in the fireplace behind him.

"Remus?" He looked up from the table to see Molly's head in the fire.

"Hi, Molly," Remus said. "You startled me."

"Oh, sorry," she said, smiling apologetically. "Listen, I just wondered- have you seen Tonks?"

"I, no, I haven't," he answered. "Why? She wasn't supposed to be on duty or anything, was she?" he asked worriedly.

"Well, no, but I was just worried, Arthur said she seemed frazzled at work today."

"If I hear from her, Molly, I'll let you know," answered Remus, taking a drink of tea. "So, when are Harry and Hermione coming to stay?" he asked, afraid that if he talked about Nymphadora too long, Molly might notice something.

"Oh, the end of the week, I believe," Molly answered. "You're welcome to come and stay too, Remus, I think Tonks may be coming to stay. Kingsley has been dropping in occasionally, too."

"I'll keep it in mind, thanks."

"You're welcome. Well, I must go get supper started, I think Ron and Ginny are getting hungry, and Arthur ought to be home from work soon. It was nice to chat, Remus...I hope Tonks is okay."

"Me too, Molly. See you soon." And Mrs. Weasley's head left his fireplace with another pop. After sitting quietly for a moment, his thoughts drifted to Tonks. _"Nymphadora," he thought, "What's wrong?"_

----------------------

Nymphadora Tonks was making her way through the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic, carefully tapping her wand on her shoulder so that it changed her office attire to that of a young Muggle woman. Once she was satisfied with what she was wearing (and with the shade of pink her hair was) she walked out onto one of the busiest streets of London and blended right in with the Muggles surrounding her.

"Maybe you should just let me do this, Tonks," she mumbled to herself in a singsong voice. "Or, it's okay, I've got it covered." She sighed. She was repeating everything that everyone had said to her in the past few weeks, and had come to the conclusion that she was being no help to anyone at all. She was too clumsy. Yes, so she was a highly skilled Auror, but the fact that she sometimes knocked over a vase or tripped unexpectedly made her the one that everyone wanted to do things for, in fear that she might mess them up.

Don't let 'em get where they're going to

You know they're only what they think of you

You heard of this emotional trickery

And you felt like you were learning the ropes

But where you're going now you don't know...

She continued walking down the busy streets of London, kicking pebbles when she came across them. Tonks wasn't sure where she felt like going, or if she even wanted to go anywhere. Grimmauld Place was out of the question; without Sirius there, she just didn't feel like she should be there without other members of the Order around. Home was out of the question, too, because she didn't feel like having her mother and father worry about her. She could go home, but she'd be by herself, as usual, and all she really wanted was to be with someone right now.

And that someone was Remus Lupin.

Okay, so there was a large difference in their ages, she knew that. And she probably figured he'd never let her like him because he was a werewolf, and that was just too dangerous for her. But what she did know is that she felt something for him she hadn't felt for anyone in a long time, and she wanted to do something about that.

But what? Either way, she kept walking, hoping that she didn't run into someone she knew. Now that she'd disappointed herself by thinking about Remus again, she just wanted to be alone. She gazed into the windows of the Muggle shops she passed, thinking that sometimes it must be nice to not have any idea who Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters were. And as she paused to look in the window of one shop, she tripped over a crack in the sidewalk.

"Are you okay?" A teenage girl had rushed to Tonks's side to make sure she was okay.

"Yup, thanks," Tonks answered, straightening up and brushing the dirt off her jeans.

The young girl smiled at her, and Tonks gave a weak smile in return. They headed off in their separate directions, Tonks finally deciding to head toward Diagon Alley.

And when the kids on the street say

What's your problem, girl?

And the weight of their smile gets

Too much for you to bear

Tonks passed through the Leaky Cauldron and gave a nod to Tom, the barman, and tapped the bricks out back. When she stepped through the archway into Diagon Alley, she saw wizards of all kinds scurrying into shops and heading down the cobblestone street. Some of the young wizards who were on summer holiday gave her some odd looks when they saw her dirty patched jeans and t-shirt. Judging from the looks on some of their faces, she had a pretty angry demeanor about her.

"What's your problem?" one of the boys asked her, and Tonks blushed furiously. She felt terrible, so she ducked into Fred and George's shop, hoping that they could cheer her up.

"Tonks, what's going on?" George asked her cheerily, when she managed her way to the twins, who were standing behind the counter. Their hair seemed more red than usual, and both were dressed in bright blue satin robes. Fred was just finishing up with a young wizard that Tonks assumed to be a Hogwarts student. The young boy had an entire pile of Skiving Snackboxes on the counter and some various other objects, all of which Tonks was sure would annoy Filch.

"You both best hope you can cheer me up," she answered.

"Oh, Tonks, that's ever so easy," Fred replied, leading her over to some shelves and showing her their latest developments. He convinced her to buy a Fanged Frisbee, a punching telescope, and a few Skiving Snackboxes, just in case she ever felt like she needed a day off of work.

She walked out of the store with a little less gold in her pockets and a slightly better mood. She decided to Apparate to The Burrow, since Molly had invited her to stay. And with the first thought of the Weasley's house, she was there.

When they all make you feel

Like you're a problem girl

Remember

You're no problem at all

You're no problem at all

She Apparated into the kitchen, where she found Molly sitting at the table with Arthur, Ron, and Ginny. "Hi, everyone," Tonks said softly, and Molly looked up.

"Tonks, dear," she said, rushing over to her and enveloping her in a hug. "You look absolutely starving. And like you've been crying. Is everything okay, dear?"

Tonks nodded, feeling overwhelmed. "Yeah, Molly, I'm okay. But I would like a bite to eat."

Molly rushed off to the stove, wand in hand, and Tonks collapsed in the nearest chair, which happened to be next to Arthur. "Sure you're okay?" he asked her. "You seemed frazzled at work today."

Tonks nodded. "I hope I'm not imposing, Molly, but you said that if I wanted to come and stay, I was welcome..."

"You are welcome here anytime," Molly said, turning around and putting a hot bowl of stew in front of her. "Now eat up, and there's plenty more where that came from."

Tonks ate quickly, finishing up two bowls of the thick stew that Molly had quickly prepared for her. She felt a little bit better with a hot meal in her and some great people surrounding her. Ron and Ginny became more talkative, and Tonks managed to enjoy the end of the meal. As Molly took away the bowl to be washed, they heard a pop. Tonks looked up to see Remus Lupin standing five feet in front of her.


	2. Don't Call Me Nymphadora!

"Nymphadora," Lupin whispered quietly, meeting her eyes. "How are you?"

"Okay," she answered shakily, giving him a small smile. He smiled back, and turned to Molly.

"I see you found her."

Molly nodded. "Tonks, you can stay in Fred and George's empty room. Hermione will probably join you when she comes to stay, if you're still here."

She nodded, glanced at Remus one more time, then headed upstairs. Once she was settled in the twins' room, she laid back on the pillow and stared at the ceiling. It was going to be a long night.

Back downstairs, Remus had taken Tonks' empty seat at the table. "Molly, she looks terrible. Did you ask her what was wrong?"

"Not exactly," Molly began, and Arthur interjected.

"I mentioned that she seemed frazzled at work today, but she didn't give a second thought to it, so I'm not sure. She probably just didn't want to talk about it."

"You notice that she didn't even get mad at me for calling her Nymphadora? She hates that," Remus said, with a sad look in his eyes. "Something more serious is wrong here. I don't believe she's sick...no...when she's sick or tired, she'll tell you. It's not that. But whatever it is, we need to figure it out, because I don't like seeing her like this." Looking up to see them all staring at him, he quickly added, "And I know you don't either."

"Right," she answered. "Well, I don't know, Ginny, maybe you can talk to her. She might tell you something."

"Maybe," Ginny answered skeptically, standing up. "Well, it's worth a try." And with that, she headed upstairs.

"Tonks?" she said softly, knocking on the door of her brothers' old room.

"C'mon in," Tonks replied dully.

Ginny walked in and sat on the edge of the bed. "Tonks, is everything okay? I know you said it was, but it didn't seem like it."

"Yeah, I've just had a hard few weeks," Tonks said. "Maybe I'll want to talk about it later, but right now, I just don't. I feel like I'm being a huge problem."

"You're not," Ginny said gently. "Mum said you were welcome here, and you are." Tonks nodded. "Well, if you need to talk, I'm just down the hall," she said, with a smile. "Now, Professor Lupin is downstairs, and...well...I think you should talk to him."

Tonks gave Ginny a bright smile, for the first time the entire day. "Yeah, okay, I might come down."

"I'll just send him up," Ginny said airily, standing up and heading towards the door. As she put her hand on the doorknob, she turned around. "You two would be great together, you know."

Tonks eyed her. "How did you...?"

"I know you fancy him, Tonks. You remember how you guessed that I liked Harry? Well, that's how I guessed that you liked Professor Lupin. That look you got when you saw him standing there was the same kind of look I get when I look at Harry," she said, opening the door. "But don't worry, I won't breathe a word." And she bounded downstairs to get Remus.

He came into her room a few minutes later, knocking softly on the door that was still partway open. "Hi," Tonks said to him, sitting up quickly. In the process, she knocked the pillow off the bed and managed to spill the contents of her Weasley's Wizard Wheezes bag. He helped her put her things back in her bag (without even questioning her purchases) as she picked up the pillow. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I'm just so damn clumsy."

"Nymphadora, don't worry about it," he replied. "If you had been a problem, I would've said something." And when she looked up and met his eyes, he saw that they were filled with tears.

"But I can't do anything right anymore," she said, quickly rubbing her eyes. "I'm always a problem girl. It doesn't matter what I do wrong, someone always wants to do everything for me so I don't mess it up. And I hate it. I just hate it." Remus walked over to the bed and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder as she started to cry.

"Nymphadora, you're not a problem," he said softly. "I know you're clumsy, but that's no reason for anyone to make you feel like you aren't doing your job well. You're a fantastic Auror, and you know it. So don't ever let anyone make you feel like you're a problem."

"Thanks, Remus," she said, grabbing a tissue from the nearby table. She quickly dabbed at her smeared makeup and blew her nose, then threw the tissue in the trash. "Sorry, I feel quite silly now, I didn't mean for you to see me cry."

"No worries," he answered, giving her a warm smile. As he turned to leave, she spoke one more time.

"Oh, one more thing before you go."

"What's that?" he asked, knowing what was going to come.

"Don't call me Nymphadora. You know damn well that I hate it, Remus."

Remus grinned at her. "I know." He shut the door gently behind him and headed downstairs.


End file.
